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Friday, 24 February 2012

Even though her career did not take off as impressively as she had expected it to have, actor Neha Dhupia's learning curve, in her nine year B-Town stint, has earned her the much required brownie points.
While the actor candidly confesses that she is "happy" that she's "got a lot of work to do in the industry," when it comes to creative satisfaction, Neha feels she has a valid reason to cheer. "I have come a long way in Bollywood. And I am very happy with the body of work that I have done in the industry. But, there's a long way to go for me," says Neha who adds, "After spending these many years in the industry, I know why actors make desperate choices to take up every role that comes their way. I am always scared of that moment when one day I will wake up only to find I don't have any work. But I am glad that I have got many things to do right now."
That could be the reason why Neha is keeping herself busy with striking brand promotions deals and donning the thinking hat of an entrepreneur apart from involving herself in charity and acting. At the same time, Neha feels it is acting that tops the priority list. "I do a lot of other activities, but would like to stick to acting as the most important thing in life. I was majorly into sports until I got bitten by the acting bug," says Neha who has two releases this year.
The actor feels happy to have got wonderful inputs and encouragement in the industry. "While I was working with Priyadarshan, he had this piece of advice for me, 'acting is all about using common sense.' And I religiously follow the same. It's made a lot of difference," says the actor.
Currently, it is her singledom that's making her happy. "I was in a relationship. But now I am single and I am very happy," says Neha who has this mantra to share, "As long as you are happy, it does not matter whether you are single or married. If you are married and are unhappy, then you need to get out of that relationship."
More than doing the job of donning the greasepaint, it is "running the house", that Neha feels "is more difficult a task. You need to take care of a whole lot of things, starting from the kitchen." The actor feels that for a woman, it always makes sense to carve her own identity and not emulate a man. "I believe that men are cut out to do their own set of jobs. 'Don't try to be a man in a man's world', be a woman and you'd be appreciated."
Neha feels the age of social networking has enabled her to keep in touch with friends and fans. "When you are social networking, you get to know your fans' feedback and you get to ping anytime, anywhere. The world has now got to stay connected through a single 'dot'," says Neha.

Big moolah celebrations in the capital are now incomplete without Bollywood celebs, big or small (depending on the host's budget) shaking their booty, but a party in Delhi on Wednesday night turned ugly as actress Zarine Khanwalked out midway during her performance.

Apparently, one of the guests misbehaved with the actress during her performance, forcing her to leave the venue, even though she'd been paid 5 lakh to perform at the particular anniversary celebration at Tivoli Gardens in south Delhi.

A source present tells TOI that Zarine was performing on stage, when one of the guests started showering a wad of 10,000 on her, and there were whistles with each 100 that was thrown on her.

Zarine objected strongly to the behaviour and stopped performing. The cancelled performance lead to a heated debate between the hosts, the event management firm and Zarine, with the actress refusing to return the money that she'd been paid. So, to settle matters, the event managers dialled for police assistance on 100, even as Zarine left for her hotel, while blaming the event managers for the fiasco.

A police official from the Vasant Kunj police station, who met with the event managers late on Wednesday evening, told TOI, "Ek jhagde ki call aayi thi, but there was no physical violence. Zarine ka show tha Tivoli mein where some guy showered money on her. She became upset with the behaviour and stopped performing. When the event manager asked her to return the money since she hadn't completed her act, she refused to do so, saying that it was his fault that the guest misbehaved. We couldn't do anything there since there was no brawl. We told them that this should be dealt with as a civil suit; it's not under police purview. If the event management firm thinks Zarine didn't fulfil her commitment, they should file for a claim."

R Madhavan and Bipasha Basu have known each other for a decade, ever since they first met in 1997.

Hanging out with common friends, they shared a warm camaraderie till Madhavan moved to Chennai. But when they met once again, this time as "Jodi Breakers"'s lead pair, it was like the good old days. Their crackling chemistry effortlessly translates on to the screen too. Over to Maddy and Bips...

You have known Bipasha for long. Did you ever feel that she was hot?

Madhavan: Well, does one find sugar to be sweet? Of course she is hot! But the problem is that she is completely in shape and can make any man feel unfit (pointing to his tummy).

Bipasha: What rubbish!

Madhavan: Aren't you a fitness freak? You are the fitness and I am the freak (laughs).

Bipasha: Maddy you are really mad.

Okay, Bipasha, do you find South Indian men attractive?

Bipasha: My sister is married to a South Indian and I have a South Indian nephew. He looks very handsome. As for Madhavan, well, he is a benchmark for the kind of husband I want. I have said this to Sarita (Madhavan's wife) too. He is such a wholesome guy.

Madhavan: We know what you mean by wholesome... (points to the stomach once again).

Bipasha: That's why I want to take you to the gym (laughs). Personally, I'd not like to settle for someone less than Maddy. Not in weight though! He lives life king size. I would like to live my life with a man just that way.

So, Madhavan, what has been your reaction to her wanting a husband like you?

Bipasha: I have given the job to Madhavan to look for a guy like him for me. I told him this on his birthday.

Madhavan: My friends were flabbergasted on reading that. The biggest reaction was from my wife, whose eyebrows stayed up for two days. She was like, 'Does she really know you that well?' I'm sure Bipasha will find a better hubby than me.

Were you apprehensive about whether your pairing will work?

Madhavan: I knew Bips as a friend, but was sceptical about how we would look on screen. We are jodi breakers, but could not afford not to look compatible because eventually, it is a love story.

Wednesday, 15 February 2012

Looks like ex-lovers Ranbir and Deepika have done well to put the past behind them. The duo was last seen in Los Angeles only last week...

It looks like Ayaan Mukherjee has managed to get ex-couple Ranbir Kapoor and Deepika Padukone back on track, and the actors themselves seem to be comfortable with each other. Besides accepting awards from her, the two maintain a dignified approach and have gone on record to say that they are professionals and are looking forward to working with each other.

After the break up with Siddharth Mallya, Deepika is single again. Ranbir, however, we hear is busy patching up with all his exes, including Katrina Kaif.

According to a source, Deepika and Ranbir were spotted together in Los Angeles last week. The duo flew back to India separately. There's no doubt Ranbir and Deepika are friends again but will this friendship turn in to love again? Only time will tell.

Kareena Kapoor is reportedly going to perform two item numbers for Madhur Bhandarkar's new film 'Heroine'.
She has also recently done a mujra 'Dil Mera Muft Ka' in her boyfriend Saif Ali Khan's home production 'Agent Vinod'.
One of the item numbers which Kapoor will be doing in 'Heroine' is believed to be called 'Halkat Jawani'.

Saturday, 4 February 2012

Actors Genelia D'Souza and Riteish Deshmukhtied the knot this morning after courting each other for nine long years.

The baaraat and arrangements at this big fat Bollywood wedding were nothing less than exquisite. There were dancers, and guests dressed in the 9-yard Maharashtrian saris (navaris) making this wedding a truly traditional one.

Genelia D'Souza made for a pretty bride in red. Well attended by people from the film fraternity and politicos, Riteish ensured to make his fans a part of his big day, and immediately posted a picture of himself and his bride on twitter once the wedding ceremony was over and the handsome couple announced man and wife.

The array of food was exotic - from Indian to world cuisine, the guests had enough and more to choose from.

Though the wedding was by and large a Maharashtrian one, Genelia is known to have conducted a few Catholic rituals. While Riteish had a haldi ceremony at home a day before the wedding, Genelia hosted a roce ceremony at her home and paid a visit to the the church to seek blessings. The couple didn't meet each other after these respective ceremonies. They were made to stay put at home, and saw each other only on the wedding day.

The wedding reception of Genelia and Riteish will be held tomorrow, and is once again expected to be well attended by the who's who of Mumbai! Here's wishing the handsome couple a happy married life.